Asos announces China e-commerce expansion
By Retail Technology | Thursday July 18 2013
UK online fashion retailer plans to launch new e-commerce business into growing Asian market with hybris
Asos has taken on new e-commerce software from SAP-owned hybris for a launch into China, it has revealed.
The UK's largest online-only fashion and beauty store, which makes more than 60% of its sales internationally, will use the hybris Commerce Suite to extend its global growth into Asia Pacific (APAC).
According to figures from the China Internet Network Information Centre, 75% of all of China’s internet users are accessing the web from mobile devices and tablets. Offering an omnichannel experience to those 420 million potential customers, the site will include a fully integrated, feature-rich mobile version as part of the launch.
Targeting primary regional growth
“Within the APAC region, China is recognised as being the primary driver of growth and, as such, it’s a market in which we want to be a major player,” said Pete Marsden, Asos chief information officer.
But he added that it is also a market with unique characteristics around linguistic and regulatory requirements among others. "To address these, we needed a proven and robust omnichannel platform that can support our new e-commerce business and the rapid growth and high traffic numbers that we’re expecting due to the size of the Chinese market," said Marsden.
"We also required one that would allow us to collaborate with local, native-speaking implementation partners who are familiar with the cultural, technical, legal, political and governmental issues in China to help facilitate the development process. Hybris, with its fully localised Commerce Suite and established partner ecosystem in the region, was far and above the best fit to meet these requirements.”
Scaling to meet Chinese demand
With 6 million active customers, Asos currently ships to 241 countries and territories from its 1.1 million square foot global distribution centre in the UK.
According to a report from eMarketer released in February 2013, this year’s business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce sales are expected to grow 18.3% to $1.3 trillion worldwide as the APAC region surpasses North America to become the world's number one market for B2C e-commerce.
